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Stop ORV Damage to Utah's Wild Lands!
The lands managed by the Richfield BLM Field Office are some of the most unique in the state of Utah. From the spectacular peaks of the Henry Mountains to the quiet solitude of Larry Canyon, these tremendous landscapes in central Utah are some of the country's last remaining truly wild places.
The Richfield Resource Area is at risk of forever losing its wilderness-quality landscapes to unmitigated ORV use and oil and gas drilling. Now is the time for BLM to make decisions that consider the long-term well-being of our remarkable, yet endangered, wild lands.
Add your comments to our letter below, then click on Send this Message.
| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Stop ORV Damage to Utah's Wild Lands!
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the BLM's Richfield Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP). The Richfield Resource Area encompasses some of the most spectacular and untouched wild places in the country. Unfortunately, unmitigated ORV use threatens much of the wilderness-quality land found here. The BLM must revise its Draft RMP in order to reduce the destructive and redundant web of ORV routes and the resulting noise, fumes, and scars to the land. These public lands should provide more opportunities for traditional non-motorized use and provide protection of natural resources that are essential to the long term health of the ecosystem.
The Draft RMP fails to adequately address protection of wilderness-quality lands in its range of alternatives. The plan proposes to protect none of the 682,600 acres outside of the Wilderness Study Areas that BLM's own inventory identified as possessing wilderness characteristics. The preferred alternative also fails to designate appropriate Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs) and Wild & Scenic River segments.
To properly manage the many resources of the Richfield Resource Area, BLM should incorporate protection for lands with wilderness characteristics into the final plan, no matter which alternative is chosen. It is unacceptable to designate ORV routes in areas that are included in America's Red Rock Wilderness Act, currently pending before Congress. Specifically, BLM should take the following actions:
- Include protection of lands with wilderness characteristics in all of the proposed alternatives. Protecting wilderness values areas and designating all proposed ACECs would still leave plenty of land open to motorized use and oil and gas development.
- Motorized routes should not be designated in citizen-proposed wilderness areas, inventoried roadless areas, critical and sensitive wildlife habitats, riparian areas, or in sensitive soils.
- Vehicles should be restricted to designated roads and trails throughout the entire resource area. In order to facilitate enforcement, there should be a "closed unless signed open" policy. Redundant routes should be eliminated.
- The BLM is required by federal regulation to minimize conflicts between ORV users and non-motorized visitors to the area. Combining non-motorized and motorized users on the same trail system is a bad idea. There needs to be a fair allocation between motorized and non-motorized users that provides more opportunities for quiet recreation.
The best management alternative for the diverse resources of the Richfield area is offered by the Heart-of-the-Redrock Heritage Plan, submitted to BLM by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. BLM should adopt this alternative. However, regardless which alternative is adopted, it is critical that BLM incorporate the suggestions above. Thank you.
Sincerely,
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Campaign Launched:
January 11, 2008
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The Bureau of Land Management released the Richfield Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) on October 26, 2007, for a 90-day public comment period - the fifth such draft plan to be released in the past two months. The Richfield Field Office of the BLM manages 2.1 million acres of public lands in central Utah, including the iconic landscapes of Factory Butte, the Henry Mountains, and the canyons of the Dirty Devil River and Robbers Roost country. The BLM's proposed plan disregards proposed wilderness areas and would designate ORV routes in Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs) and within other BLM-inventoried roadless areas.
This proposed plan would destroy these amazing lands for decades, if not forever, and reflects the current administration's single-minded focus on road development and oil and gas drilling. The stunning wildlands of the Richfield area demand better protection.
The Richfield Resource Area's public lands are spirited with rich Utah history. Echoes of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid reverberate through the canyons of the Dirty Devil; rugged and desolate lands around Factory Butte are reminiscent of the challenges met by Utah's earliest settlers; and the Henry Mountains, the last mountain range to be mapped in the continental U.S., stand relatively unknown and unexplored. From the Henrys, one can see the wide expanse of the heart of the Colorado Plateau: the Abajo and La Sal Mountains, the sculpted walls of the Maze, the Book Cliffs, the jagged teeth of the San Rafael Reef, Waterpocket Fold, the aspen-dotted bench of the Awapa Plateau, and down into Arizona toward the deepest canyons of the Colorado River. Surrounded by Capitol Reef and Canyonlands National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, and the San Rafael Swell, the lands managed by the Richfield BLM office are some of the most unique in the state of Utah.
The Richfield BLM Field Office has never developed a plan for designating and enforcing ORV trail systems. As a result, an unplanned network of trails has been created as the number of ORV users recreating on public lands has sky-rocketed over the last two decades. This has proven disastrous for many archeological sites, riparian areas, sensitive species, and formerly scenic landscapes. As the web of newly pioneered ORV routes has increased, the areas that non-motorized users value for quiet recreation such as wildlife viewing, horseback riding, bicycling, and hiking have decreased proportionately. Furthermore, BLM's oil and gas leasing in sensitive areas is irresponsible and uncalled for considering that geologists agree there is no significant chance of an energy bonanza outside of the already developed areas in Utah.
BLM's Preferred Alternative Plan Fails to Protect the Richfield Resource Area's Diverse Values:
- The BLM is required by law to maintain the pristine wilderness character of WSAs the agency identified in the early 1980s. However, BLM proposes to designate 45 miles of motorized routes within WSAs. BLM should not designate motorized routes within WSAs; any existing routes should be closed.
- The plan would protect none of the 682,600 acres outside of the WSAs that have been identified by the BLM as possessing wilderness characteristics (naturalness and outstanding opportunities for solitude and primitive recreation). BLM should consider protecting these wilderness-quality lands in all of its proposed alternatives.
- The proposed ORV Travel Plan would designate 3,693 miles of ORV routes on BLM lands, including many within BLM-inventoried roadless areas and other lands in America's Red Rock Wilderness Act, pending before Congress. BLM should not designate ORV trails within any citizen-wilderness proposal areas or inventoried roadless areas.
- The BLM has identified 12 eligible river and stream segments for inclusion in the Wild & Scenic River System. However, the BLM's preferred alternative recommends only two river segments as suitable for Wild & Scenic protection. BLM should expand protection of river resources and riparian habitats, as these are critical to maintaining healthy ecosystems.
- ACECs (Areas of Critical Environmental Concern) are an important management tool the BLM can use to protect specific threatened resources such as archaeological sites, riparian ecosystems, and endangered plants and animals. The BLM has identified 16 potential ACECs totaling 886,810 acres. Yet the BLM proposes to designate only two, accounting for only 2,530 acres. This is a step backwards from the existing plan. BLM should designate all potential ACECs; this would still leave plenty of land for motorized recreation and oil and gas development.
- The BLM's proposed plan leaves many spectacular landscapes open to oil and gas development, including the iconic Factory Butte, the Red Desert area adjacent to Capitol Reef National Park, Long and Bullfrog canyons near Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, and other areas within America's Red Rock Wilderness Act. BLM should protect sensitive areas from oil and gas drilling, including citizen-proposed wilderness, riparian areas, and critical wildlife habitat.
The BLM is required by federal regulation to minimize conflicts between ORV users and non-motorized visitors to the area. Trail designations must take this mandate into account. Therefore, BLM must revise its proposed plan in order to provide a fair allocation between motorized and non-motorized users.
Visit the BLM's Richfield RMP web site for more information:
http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/richfield/planning.html
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